How To Write Repeatedly and Successfully about the Same Topic
Even the greats do it
“He is a master of recycling content. He takes a topic he’s written about in the past and writes a similar post with another take on it.” — Burk on the secret of Tim Denning's success on Medium
A while back I published a story about how my top 3 stories on Medium were all about the same thing, and just recently I published another story on the topic and it is also doing great. In fact, just two weeks of publishing the story and it's shot straight to the no. 2 spot.
Now, some writers hesitate to go over already covered ground and their hesitation is understandable because just as pointed out by blogger extraordinaire, Darren Rowse aka ProBlogger, bloggers get feel a range of negative emotions like guilt because it feels like the repetition is somehow shortchanging their readers; or going over already covered ground is boring and unstimulating; or that their long term readers will react negatively to the new stuff due to the repetition.
“Repetition is not such a bad thing because the human mind thrives on it.”
Valid reasons for going over already covered topics
There can be plenty of good reasons why you will write more than once on the same topic. For instance:
- when you write for the a client over a long period you can easily end up writing about the same topic repeatedly;
- you may wish to share the same information in different ways or from different unique perspectives;
- when want to zoom in on one or just some components of the subject and cover it or them in depth;
- as you learn more about certain topics your knowledge grows and so with the seemingly repetitive posts you are actually adding value to the discourse because updated knowledge/information is critical in our fast-changing times; or
- when you are gaining new readers, followers, or subscribers you will find it can be challenging steering them to your “dated” content, and so with each new piece of writing you are reaching people who are reading the topic from you for the first time.
“Why do people read the same book over and over again?”
A few recommendations:
- You can write about the same topic repeatedly and successfully as long as you write from different angles. There are always different angles to the same stories. So learn to look at them and use as many as you like.
- You can also create new short form content out of your dated content by simply zooming in on one component of the subject and going over it in depth. This way you can create as many new stories as there are components you wish to cover. I have done this many times with my longer stories.
- Make the “repeat” story different enough because though there will definitely be new readers who are reading you on the topic for the first time via your new story, you also need to keep in mind the regular/long-term readers who will be looking for something new.
- Give prominence to any new things that have added to your knowledge or broadened your perspective on the subject especially if your previous writing does not hold true anymore, or you have discarded any previously expressed opinions due to new knowledge or experiences.
“I attempt to find a new way to approach the topic, new insights, new examples and even write it in a different style/voice.” — Darren Rowse
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